Sun Mote Copse You question the choices in your life.

As she contorted and pulled at the pheasant's body she could feel the broken neck twisting in her teeth, the spinal column loose and occasionally grinding where fragments caught against fragments; she felt it through her fangs, and it reminded her of playing tug-o-war, except the ground wouldn't let her have the prize. It was still hard-packed around the breast of the dead bird and Blackheart would need to break away those layers to get at it. She did not want to relinquish the bird's neck just yet - the flavor of the dusty feathers and consistency of the stiff skin reminded her of jerky, and her belly groaned again. Her mouth was full of saliva. One more big pull and maybe she could free at least part of the creature from its pit...

Hey! A voice sprang forth, startling Blackheart in to gripping the bird's neck tight enough to cut in to the tough flesh. Her tail went straight up while her withers stiffened, except she was already trembling as the stranger approached - she was in a mind fog for a few seconds and missed what the not-dog was saying; until their tone became sharper and they began to show displeasure: Hey! That's our food!

Blackheart knew she should not be here stealing from this person, but she was starving, and she thought herself fast enough even with her inherent weakness to escape with something - but there came another body, answering to the raised voice of the girl - and as soon as Blackheart saw the scarred black creature with its shiny teeth and heard its snarling, she let the pheasant drop to the dirt again. Better not to take her chances with two sets of teeth.

So, she tried to bolt. She backed off a few paces and then spun and tried to launch herself in to a run, getting a few feet away before pausing to catch her breath. The taste of the pheasant was still there upon her tongue and it hurt to feel the flavor diminish; but she could not go back and try again, and she knew that. After pacing for a few moments among the trees she took off again - this time slipping through the dark of the woods and heading north.